Video: San Francisco cops raid rap video shoot, arrest 2

With their guns drawn, a team of San Francisco police, including several plainclothes officers, shut down a hip-hop video shoot and handcuffed nearly 20 people last weekend in the Bayview.

Police arrested two men, one on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a loaded semi-automatic handgun and another on suspicion of selling drugs, said Officer Albie Esparza, a police spokesman.

Video of the episode was posted online and has been making the rounds on social media, prompting some to wonder if police acted excessively.

Brian Strom, a city resident and videographer, was with the group all day Sunday shooting a video for the new track “Demo,” featuring Bay Area hip-hop artist Yung Lott.

Around 4 p.m., the group was recording at a playground on Kiska Road, when police interrupted.

“Everybody hands up now,” an officer is heard saying in the background. The group, some bewildered with their hands up, turns to the officer.

“We’re shooting a video bro,” one man says.

Then police tell the group to get on their knees and, one by one, the men are handcuffed and searched.

Storm said in an interview that he complied with the officers because he was worried he might get shot. He set his camera down, still recording, before he was cuffed, searched and later released without being cited or arrested.

“Young men in a poverty-stricken neighborhood, purposely staying busy to stay out of trouble, gathered together to do something positive, creative, and productive and ended up being violently stereotyped and prejudged,” he wrote on YouTube.

Many in the group were unaware what was happening and didn’t know if anyone was arrested, Storm said.

But police said they arrested 21-year-old Richmond resident Taj Williams on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm and gang allegations, and 24-year-old Michael Higginbotham on suspicion of selling drugs.